Elegy Chapter One: Introduction
This is An Elegy for Sivar, a campaign setting designed for use with The Wing Commander Role-Playing Game. What you're reading is a campaign setting pencil-and-paper (PNP) role-playing game adaptation of these original games. The rules contained herein have been designed to be as flexible as possible, so that players may be as detailed or as carefree as they'd like to be while playing the game. They've also been designed such that players may play a game very similar to the original games, or have a much different type of adventure within the Wing Commander Universe. To play An Elegy for Sivar (also known as Elegy for short), you’ll need the following equipment: *A copy of the Core Rules to The Wing Commander Role-Playing Game. This can be either the PDF or hardcopy versions of the full rules. While it's not recommended, a copy of the "light version" rules from any previously existing campaign (such as Prelude to Goddard, Enyo or Vespus) may be used to play through the campaign. *At least two ten-sided dice (2d10) for each player. One of these should show multiples of 10 (a d10x10). If one is not available, the dice should be distinguishable from one another with one of them designated as the “d10x10”. *Pencil and paper. Pencil is preferable to pen, as it is far easier to erase and modify. *Some kind of screen for the "gamemaster" (GM) used to conceal the results of some of their rolls. *While not strictly necessary, some GMs may prefer to have a calculator handy in order to help with more complex calculations. (And now here is where I introduce the campaign and say a few words for posterity). Campaign Background The main Elegy campaign revolves around the Kilrathi pirate Bloodeye, whose activities and eventual fate are both mentioned in the documentation to Wing Commander: Prophecy, a guidebook known as Waypoint!, as follows: "Thirty-six Kilrathi convicted of piracy, murder, extortion and malicious disorder were executed 2681.014 at Valgard. Included in the mass execution was the pirate’s leader, Krahtagh N’Ryllis, AKA 'Bloodeye.' The executions were carried out at 0700 at the Valgard Military Prison complex. The prisoners were executed as a group by flash incineration. The Kilrathi Provisional Council protested the executions. Although the Kilrathi did not dispute either the guilt of the accused nor the appropriateness of the sentence, they argued that the pirates should have been turned over to their own people for execution by traditional methods. Sector Governor Stella Lee issued the following statement in response to the Kilrathi protest. "While the government of this Sector appreciates the eagerness of the Kilrathi to assist in the process of justice, we strongly feel that it is important that these bloody murderers should meet their well-deserved fate at the hand of those they so brutally victimized. Therefore, we must respectfully refuse Kilrathi assistance in the execution of this sentence." N’Ryllis and his followers, the so-called "Demon’s Eye Pack," terrorized colonists and disrupted space traffic in Epsilon Sector for almost five months last year, until their base was taken by Confed Marines. Of the estimated 400 Kilrathi living in the pirate base, at least 300 were killed and the rest taken prisoner. Fifty-four females, children and slaves were released into Kilrathi custody, while Bloodeye and 35 followers were charged in a high-profile trial that resulted in capital convictions for all the accused." -- Waypoint!, page 76. Aside from this brief narrative, Bloodeye is not referenced and makes no other appearances anywhere else in the Wing Commander Universe. The Elegy campaign will tell his tragic tale - how he became a pirate and some of the thing he did while he and his group were still active. The year is 2680, exactly one year prior to the events of Wing Commander: Prophecy, seven years since the events of Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom and roughly eleven years since the end of the Terran-Kilrathi War. The Kilrathi Empire has collapsed, and in its place are dozens of small successor states controlled by local warlords whose personal fiefdoms have grown as they've been able to conquer the forces of their neighbors. The daily reality of most Kilrathi is bleak, with disease and famine rampant among the worlds of the former Empire and wherein worlds change hands daily. Fundamental concepts such as honor, loyalty and duty still exist among the Kilrathi, but they are oftentimes co-opted due to the demands of mere survival. The story takes place in Epsilon Sector, a region rimward of Vega Sector and where the bulk of the events of WC4 took place. Since their successful bid for independence from the Confederation, the nascent Union of Border Worlds controls much of the "civilized" portion of the region. Having lost most of their actual territorial holdings in the area, the Confederation's influence is still felt largely due to a group of corporations that hold a near-monopoly on commerce throughout the Sector. The home territory of the Firekkans is in the region; they control a very small are but their forces are potent and their influence is definitely quite strong. The Kilrathi Assembly of Clans, the formally recognized successor state to the Empire, has largely taken control of most of the Kilrathi systems in the region, with notable exceptions being the world of S'Thran H'hra in Corsair (known to the Terrans as "Chloe") and a region in the rimward/anti-spinward portion of Tr'L Rass Quadrant, which is de facto controlled by a well-organized Kilrathi pirate clan known as the Crimson Claw, which is led by the notorious Naragh "ko Thrakhaxal" N'Caxki. Ragark lak Haka, ruler of the Hralgkrak Quadrant of the Landreich Sector, is attempting to reclaim a few systems in the rimward/spinward region of Antares Quadrant, though his forces have yet to fully recover from the raid on Baka Kar a decade ago. Things for the Kilrathi have largely settled down in the Sector, though like many living in the former Empire, . How to Use This Campaign Guide This guidebook is seperated into two "parts". The first section contains the Elegy campaign, the group of adventures that tell the tale of Bloodeye and his assembled crew. This section contains five Chapters. The first Chapter is the introduction, which goes over basic information about the campaign and includes tips and instructions on how best to use the information contained in this guide. Chapter Two, entitled Nistalan, is the introductory portion of the Elegy campaign, and details the start of the Demon's Eye Pack. The second section is the Epsilon Sector campaign setting; this section is primarily meant for those player groups that would like to have an adventure or two in Epsilon but who do not necessarily want to play through the main Elegy campaign, or perhaps who have played through it once already and are looking for a different kind of adventure. Revised Commodity Tables Encounter Tables What's Next